Capricorn F-18 Tuning Manual

Table of Contents

Download this manual

Capricorn F-18

Tuning Guide

1 General aspects

The Capricorn seems to have advantages in medium to heavy conditions with respect to other F18 boats. This holds

especially upwind, where the Capricorn shows sparkling performance. We therefore propose to bias the basic set-up

of the boat slightly towards lighter conditions. Thus a small portion of the heavy wind superiority is sacrificed in order

to get an advantage in light winds.

The rig of the Capricorn is derived from latest A-Class developments and is quite different from traditional F18 set-ups.

This shows especially with the adjustment of the mast rotation. In contrast to basically all other F18 boats, the mast

rotation on the Capricorn is reduced with increasing wind speed The main sail has a special cut. The panels have

already a built in twist. Thus the sail opens nicely even when sheeted relatively hard, which helps to maintain a flat and

twisting sail in strong winds. This means also that the sail must be sheeted very hard in light to medium conditions to

compensate for the built in twist and to close the upper part of the leech.

Table of Contents

Do you have a question about the F-18 and is the answer not in the manual?

Page 1 This shows especially with the adjustment of the mast rotation. In contrast to basically all other F18 boats, the mast rotation on the Capricorn is reduced with increasing wind speed The main sail has a special cut. The panels have already a built in twist.
Page 2 In general the mast rake on the Capricorn is quite substantial compared to other F18 boats. If the boat is sailed with too much mast rake the boat feels a bit heavy on the rudder, and the acceleration out of the gust becomes a bit slow.
Page 3 Speed is the goal – not the jibing angle. Depth comes from the change in the apparent wind. The crew is out on the wire and usually is standing behind the helmsman. At high speed the Capricorn has a slight tendency to nose dive, due to its wide stern.
Page 4 Attention: The flat hull shape of the Capricorn provides substantial dynamic lift and suggests a higher level of security than actually exists. At high speed the leeward hull is occasionally in full planning mode and is out of the water all the way to the main beam.